Minerva

I am considering purchasing a UMPC for use when I am travelling but don't want to carry around my rather heavy laptop. Whilst my Axim goes absolutely everywhere with me, there are times when the screen is too small for prolonged use.

However, there is much software installed on my Axim which I rely on and use on a daily basis and so I am wondering whether there is an emulator available which would enable me to run my winmobile programs under Windows Vista?

I have read that the HTC Shift runs Winmobile as well as Vista, which would be ideal for me. However, I haven't actually found a full review covering this in any detail and in any case the HTC Shift is very expensive and I far prefer the look of the Asus R2E, which is due out in December in the UK.

Yes, I know that there are Windows XP/Vista versions of many Winmobile programs but many other programs are exclusive to Winmobile and I would dearly love to play the Arvale RPG series on a 7-inch screen!

alantdc

Yes, here's Microsoft's free standalone emulator with Windows Mobile 5 OS images. The Windows Mobile 6 images work with it too. Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/2008 also include the emulator.

The emulator is full-featured and emulates at the ARM instruction level. You can install any program to Built-In Storage, just like you would with your Axim, run them, and even save state at any time. That said, it is quite SLOW, even on my Athlon64 3700 PC. I wouldn't think of running action games on it, although you could probably get away with PIM and puzzle games on it.

By the way, if you're looking for a UMPC, did you consider the OQO 02?

Minerva

Thanks for the information and link, that sounds great and I'll try it out over the next few days.

Yes, I've looked at the OQO 02, but sadly it's rather expensive over here in the UK and as I've only recently acquired a second Axim I don't think I can justify spending that sort of money! I have an Asus laptop and find it excellent value for money and very well-featured; I think the R2E also offers excellent value and has very good specifications - although, I suppose, the screen resolution could be better!